Oberlin College Connection

Back to Campus: College Town Retirement Living

From its very beginning, Kendal at Oberlin has enjoyed a close and mutually beneficial relationship with Oberlin College. Residents can audit classes at no cost with permission from the professor. They attend concerts and recitals at the Conservatory of Music, as well as lectures of all sorts. Conservatory students appreciate the opportunity to perform for a diverse and critical audience, and Kendal residents help create that opportunity.

Kendal at Oberlin residents and Oberlin Conservatory students perform together at Kendal.

The calendar on the back of The Kendalight, the monthly newsletter of the Kendal at Oberlin Residents Association, almost always has events where Oberlin College students and faculty are performing or presenting a lecture. And the Kendal bus will transport residents to several on-campus activities each month. So many opportunities exist for programming through the College. The Conservatory of Music alone offers over 500 performances (many are free of charge!) throughout the academic year.

Students and professors have collaborated with Kendal at Oberlin on energy and environmental initiatives. Both organizations are committed to being good stewards of the environment.

About 37% of Kendal at Oberlin residents are alumni or former faculty and staff. Others come to Kendal because their children are employed at the College. And some come just because they are drawn to the college-town atmosphere and the environment of Oberlin.

The Kendal Corporation is known nationwide for having several communities developed in college or university towns. More and more, older adults are choosing a lifestyle that offers opportunities for lifelong learning. Following are links to national media coverage of this trend in retirement living, both highlighting Kendal at Oberlin’s relationship to Oberlin College: